Students eating more chicken while beef on hold

About 100 cases of beef - 40 raw and the remainder precooked in different forms - sit in school freezers awaiting the end of a hold on the meat. The precooked beef is in the form of hamburger patties, teriyaki dippers and boneless barbecued ribs.

The beef came to Lebanon Community Schools through a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) commodity program. District food manager Pam Lessley said she orders commodities through the state, which initially notified her of the hold on Jan. 31. It was extended Feb. 8 for up to 10 more days.

"It could come off at any time," Lessley said.

In the meantime, students are mostly eating chicken, which in one school was served in soft tacos. Cooks at the schools also are serving up kid favorites such as nachos and macaroni and cheese.

Although Lessley usually makes up the menus herself on a monthly basis for all district schools, during this period when beef is off the menu, she instructed cooks to use the meat in their freezers (other than beef) and be creative.

The USDA placed a hold on beef from Westland Meat Co. on Jan. 30, in response to allegations that the meat came from downer cows that should not have been used for food. USDA Secretary Ed Schafer said in a statement that the agency "prohibits non-ambulatory disabled cattle identified as specified risk materials for use in human food."

The hold is in effect during an investigation into the allegations.

Downer cows are considered more likely to have food-born illnesses such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) and E coli.

Most of the beef is in freezers at the district office. The few cases that already had been delivered to schools when the hold was issued are being kept in freezers there.

The beef has not been recalled, Lessley said. She received an e-mail from the Oregon Department of Education food distribution program explaining that this is not a food safety issue but a humane handling issue.

"There are no allegations that the meat is tainted," she said.